Starter wont engage

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74DartSwinger360

74DartSwinger360

The Brat Pack
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Ok I changed my starter out from original cause it didnt work so I put in a mini starter.
I put it all the way in the trans and I turn key and it clicks like its skipping so I make sure its driven home in the trans I find its driven home. Still clicks.
Got the original working so I purt it back in and it does the same thing like it is skipping.
Im so pissed it wont turn over and the motor spins freely by hand but cant get starter to engage
I already replaced the positive and negative cables

What do you guys think it could be?
 
might sound silly but is the starter in all the way? on the very end there is a nipple sorta thing that has to go in a groove in the tranny

i found this out the hard way
 
but the starters trying to spin when you turn the key? doesnt really sound like a relay problem then unless its too weak of a connection

or is the clicking sound like a dead battery on a newer car?

even when my battery was dead the starter would still try to turn over my motor but never clicked
 
I think the connectionis too weak the car had sat for 10 yrs in a field
and battery holdin 12 and half volts with battery charger on it
 
so the batterys 10+ years old too? try swapping for a good battery

should be 12 volts off charger
 
you have to check everything

grounds grounds grounds

battery voltage holds around 12.6 V
corroded cables/clamps
starter connections
starter relay connections

are you sure the engine spins free enough for the starter to turn it
 
74DartSwinger360 said:
I think the connectionis too weak the car had sat for 10 yrs in a field
and battery holdin 12 and half volts with battery charger on it
Click to expand...

Have you bench tested both starters? Do you have one of the push button starter jumpers like the shops use to remotely engage the starter relay. If so give it a try. You can always use something else if you don't have a button to jump the starter relay with.
 

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Put a fresh battery in it.
Stick a screwdriver across the silonid on the fender to jump it.
I have also had problems with the ground that goes from the negative battery terminal to the body ground, (small wire) that would keep a starter from working.
 
12.5 is voltage in the battery charger, not your battery alone ?
I am thinking your battery is low on amps, or like said above bad ground or connection, and make sure you can rotate the engine..

Could be right oldkimmer .
 
Your battery should be at 13.5 volts with the charger on it, 2.25 volts per cell. Sounds like battery to me.
 
Mine did the exact same thing. Thought my new mini-starter wasn't matching with the torque converter correctly. Worried myself sick because battery was showing 12 volts and the sound of the starter stripping into the teeth was scary. Swapped in a new battery and everything worked perfectly.
 
sireland67 said:
Put a fresh battery in it.
Stick a screwdriver across the silonid on the fender to jump it.
I have also had problems with the ground that goes from the negative battery terminal to the body ground, (small wire) that would keep a starter from working.
Click to expand...

I agree......Except you meant "starter relay," not "silonid"

Get a fresh battery, or at least have the old one tested. If we got this right and it IS actually 10 years old, forget it. Replace it.

Try jumpering the relay, after CLEANING and TIGHTENING the battery terminals

Post back with results.
 
67Dart273 said:
I agree......Except you meant "starter relay," not "silonid"

Get a fresh battery, or at least have the old one tested. If we got this right and it IS actually 10 years old, forget it. Replace it.

Try jumpering the relay, after CLEANING and TIGHTENING the battery terminals

Post back with results.
Click to expand...

Yep, starter relay,
Sorry guys watching my 2 yr old grand daughter today.
I don't know how I ever raised 5 kids.
I am getting too old for her antics. Thank god it is about her nap time...
 
To slighty amend your conclusions, more likely it was in corroded connections. Replacing the relay simply gave you better connections. The relay either actuates or doesn't. Yours turned on, so must have been passing current to the starter. When the relay contacts get pitted or corroded, the flowing current generates heat and welds the contacts closed. Then it won't disconnect. I wouldn't toss the relay. Just clean the connectors and try it again when you need one. I coat all connections with silicone "di-electric" grease.
 
Ok I reconected the ground from engine to firewall
Made a ground from negative battery post to the body
Nothin but the same thing
Changed the battery to a fresher one from my dads charger
samething
Im gettin pissed off that it wont turn over:violent1:
 
duster wonder said:
so the batterys 10+ years old too? try swapping for a good battery

should be 12 volts off charger
Click to expand...
nope its twenty and still good at 12.5 volts

73AbodEE said:
you have to check everything

grounds grounds grounds

battery voltage holds around 12.6 V
corroded cables/clamps
starter connections
starter relay connections

are you sure the engine spins free enough for the starter to turn it
Click to expand...
Yes I can easily spin it by hand by spining the crank pulley
pettybludart said:
Does the engine spin 360*??
Click to expand...
Yep
Oklacarcollecto said:
Have you bench tested both starters? Do you have one of the push button starter jumpers like the shops use to remotely engage the starter relay. If so give it a try. You can always use something else if you don't have a button to jump the starter relay with.
Click to expand...
Yes I tested both starters before and after removal and both work flawlessly
sireland67 said:
Put a fresh battery in it.
Stick a screwdriver across the silonid on the fender to jump it.
I have also had problems with the ground that goes from the negative battery terminal to the body ground, (small wire) that would keep a starter from working.
Click to expand...
made a body ground wire to the negative post
oldkimmer said:
................is the motor seized up from sitting for so long...............kim.......
Click to expand...
Yes it spins freely. But when first got it it would spin 1/8 a turn. So after a week and fillin the spark plug holes with B12 chemtool it came free and spun freely
 
Sorry, I was thrown off by sireland67's post, thinking he was the OP and fixed it.

As 67Dart273 says, get a multimeter and connect jumpers to measure the voltage from the the big starter stud to the body of the starter. Unless you measure >8 V while trying to crank, you cannot blame the starter. "It (battery) cranks over my Dad 440" is a weak data point, taken with different cables and setup.
 
It seems like a stuck motor to me.....

"Yes it spins freely. But when first got it it would spin 1/8 a turn. So after a week and fillin the spark plug holes with B12 chemtool it came free and spun freely"

Are you able to turn the motor over by hand numerous revolutions now with the crank bolt?? I am still thinking it is still bound up in a spot....can you turn the flywheel or ring gear (automatic) with a flywheel wrench
 
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